World Through the Windscreen
by aussiebabe290
Summary: Continuation of where the Rafters let off, with Dave, Julie and little Ruby on the road, Nathan and Sammy a family once more, Carbo and Retta building their little family, Rachel and Jake in New York and Ben and Emma wondering about their future together.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! Welcome to my first PTTR story in well over a year :) I don't know how this one is going to go! I don't know how long it will be, or how large of a timeframe it will cover. I honestly don't even know how often updates will be! But here's chapter one, and it would mean so much if you let me a review :)**

* * *

It had been their home for the best part of twenty five years. And yet there they were, driving away from it, with all the people they loved waving from the footpath. While it would always be their home, it wasn't theirs anymore. And not even twenty five years of memories could change that. Over twenty five years of Christmases, birthdays, sleepy Sunday afternoons, all behind the yellow door of their little house.

Julie and Dave Rafter, with the company of their youngest daughter Ruby, were off on the adventure of a lifetime. They were leaving their Carrs Park home and heading off into the unknown, leaving behind three of their birds, and a menagerie of extras.

Three birds that had flown the nest long ago.

Rachel, who had left for uni but had returned after an abusive relationship, living abroad in New York City. Ben, the middle child and still their baby, living only on the other side of the Colourbond, and Nathan. The real baby, for over twenty years, who had endured heartbreak after heartbreak but had his ex-wife and love of his life to piece his and his son's lives back together.

As hard as Julie tried, she still saw the baby faces that stared back at her from the photo frames in the backseat, beside their youngest daughter strapped into her five point harness, kicking her little feet sleepily.

They'd flown the nest long ago, and this time, their parents were too.

* * *

"It's so weird not having Mum and Dad next door", Ben commented, and Carbo shrugged.

"They're the best fake parents".

"They're the best real parents", Nathan added, as Retta tossed him the bottle she had just pulled out of the microwave. "What time did Rachel say she was Skyping?"

"She'll be calling in a few minutes", Sammy said, taking Edward from his arms. "It is weird though… we always went there".

"If Mum had her way she'd still be there when the new people move in", Ben chuckled, plucking the laptop up from in front of Sammy.

"Ben!"

"What?" he protested.

"Maybe we should have gone through the house one more time", Retta said instead, breaking the argument between the dark haired people beside her. "To make sure they didn't forget anything".

"They wouldn't, Mum's paranoid".

But they all knew what Retta was saying. Maybe they should have all wandered through the house one more time, to say goodbye to the place where Rachel, Ben and Nathan had grown up, and the others had called their home away from home.

They had, in a way. When Dave and Julie were farewelling their home and gathering Ruby's toys into the back of the van, they had wandered through, bringing up memories that were long forgotten. All the sleepovers together in Rachel's room when their babysitters got weird, the games of cricket in the backyard, the hundreds of thousands of dinnertime conversations in the dining room. That they were there for, and that they'd heard. Memories of Christmases, birthdays, the cake tin on the counter, filled with their favourite chocolate mud cake.

Everything that they knew.

But all that was changing.

* * *

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Julie said suddenly, breaking Dave out of his reverie.

"Jules, they'll be okay". Dave smiled at his wife, taking his hand off the gearstick to squeeze hers. "They're all grown up. I think they'll be more worried about us, out here in the big bad world".

* * *

"Do you think Mum and Dad will be okay?" Rachel wanted to know, leaning on Jake as they crowded to fit in the webcam window. "I mean they've never done anything like this before".

"God you're like Mum", Ben scoffed. "They're adults too Rachel, I'm sure they'll be fine".

"And if anything happens we'll be the first to know about it", Nathan added, rocking Edward gently. "Sorry Rach, you miss out".

"Nathan!"

"You're in a completely different time zone; you deserve to find the news out last".

"Nathan you suck, you deserved that time I hit you with a cricket bat!"

Retta laughed, having heard that story a countless number of times.

"They'll be back. I don't know when, but they'll be back", Ben said confidently. "And then you can all lumber on them again and force Mum to make chocolate cake".

"Yes, we really forced her", Rachel said sarcastically, grinning at her brother, who stuck his tongue out in the most adult retort he could manage. "Grow up Ben",

"Grow up Rachel".

"They'll be okay", Sammy said firmly, grinning.

It was the end of an era, but the start of something new.


	2. Chapter 2

They'd been on the road for a little over a week, Dave, Julie and little Ruby. And while it was oddly reminiscent of the summers they'd drive to Whiting Beach (without the cacophony of noise from the backseat, as Rachel, Ben and Nathan fought over the limited space), their drive held a completely different sense of direction.

Because unlike their summers at Whiting Beach, they didn't have a destination.

"Where we goin' Daddy?" Ruby said suddenly, and Dave grinned, bracing himself for the stream of questions that were sure to follow. Ruby, much like her big brother Nathan, had a thirst for knowledge and didn't stop until she got her answers.

They knew that already, but had learned it once more, after being confined in the car for an extended period of time.

"We're heading to Adelaide baby girl", Dave decided, and Julie looked at him in surprise.

"Adelaide?"

Dave nodded. "Adelaide".

"Where's Ad'laide?" Ruby questioned, beginning to kick her feet again, one arm clutching her Tonka truck.

"A long way away, Rubes", Julie chuckled.

"Oh".

And Ruby turned her attention back to the window, watching as the country flew by.

* * *

They'd been driving along the Great Ocean Road, through Victoria, with no apparent destination. They'd stopped and they'd seen the Twelve Apostles, Dave holding Ruby above his head and watching as the wind blew through her golden curls.

Seeing their youngest in that light, her mouth open in a grin, reminded Julie of their eldest at the same age. She laughed and screamed in joy as Dave tossed her into the air, making Julie gasp in a way that both terrified her and exhilarated her.

She had never loved Dave more than the times she caught him playing with their kids. The nights where she found him reading stories to Rachel, finding him hitting a cricket ball around the backyard with Ben, allowing Nathan to help him in the shed.

He was a family man, and she loved him more than ever.

* * *

They didn't make all the way to Adelaide. But they found themselves a sweet little shack on the beach, with a nearby park.

"Is this home?" Ruby wanted to know, bouncing within the constraints of her car seat and Julie laughed, turning around to unbuckle the little girl's seatbelt. "We home now Mummy?"

"For tonight at least!" Julie laughed, opening the door and allowing her to bounce outside.

The sun was still high in the sky, so after they'd poked around the little beach shack, they went for a walk. Julie's hand clutched Dave's, leaning against him, as Ruby skipped ahead of them, enjoying the cool evening air and the freedom that came from being out of the car.

"I could get used to this", Dave mused, as he and his wife took a seat on a park bench, watching Ruby climb up the frame in the park. "Fresh air, the beach… that one running wild. It's like Whiting Beach all over again".

"Only she doesn't have any brother or sisters with her to go running from the goannas from", Julie chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder.

"LOOK A'ME!" Ruby hollered, grinning hugely from the top of the climbing frame, and Dave laughed.

* * *

"Ruby's crashed", Julie confirmed, coming into the bedroom. Dave was lying on his side, flipping through the road directory, wondering where the days ahead of them were going to take them. "Apparently these long days wear her out. Parks, too".

"Little terror", Dave chuckled. "She's so much like Rachel".

"No, I see more Ben", Julie shrugged. "And a lot of Nathan".

Ruby Louise was a mixture of all their toddlers into one, with the same eyes as her father and the same smile as her mother.

"She thinks we're home now", Julie chuckled, her head resting on Dave's chest.

"My home is wherever my girls are, Julie Rafter", Dave whispered, kissing the top of her head gently. Julie smiled, tilting her head to press her lips against his. "I love you".


	3. Chapter 3

"Ben!" Nathan bellowed down the stairs. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Don't say hell in front of the baby!" Sammy said indignantly, shielding little Edward's ears. In the time since she had returned, she had become almost like a mother to baby Edward- she had hauled herself out of bed to make him a bottle in the middle of the night, and was almost a pro at changing nappies.

"Yeah Nathan, what is wrong with you?" Ben wanted to know, kissing Sammy on the cheek (he'd always liked her) and ticking Edward under his chin. "What's your drama now mate?"

Nathan just sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Never mind".

"God you're weird. Your daddy's a weird one buddy", Ben cooed and Nathan smacked him upside the head as he walked past.

"Ow!" he turned indignantly to Sammy. "Did you see that?"

"Don't come crying to me, you practically asked for that", she chuckled.

* * *

"Hey, can you babysit tomorrow?" Nathan checked, as Ben came down the stairs, later that same day.

"Depends", Ben said thoughtfully, a grin gracing his features. "Do I get pizza money?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Sure".

Ben laughed. "Sure mate- you taking Sammy somewhere nice?"

"I've actually booked a restaurant in the city for the two of us tomorrow night".

"Because you assumed I'd be free to babysit? Your built in babysitters have moved out now, they're roaming Australia with their kid".

"Retta offered. She's the one who wants all the practice before their baby's born". Nathan shrugged and Ben snickered. "So can you do it or not?"

"Sure, he's a pretty cool kid". Ben shrugged with a grin.

* * *

"Come on Sam, time to go!" Nathan held out his hand and Sammy took it gingerly, Nathan squeezing it tight.

"When will you be home?" Ben wanted to know, gently jiggling Edward in his arms.

"I don't know". Nathan shrugged.

"Not too late", Sammy said instead, kissing Edward's little nose.

"Be good for Uncle Ben buddy!" Nathan said cheerily, closing the door.

* * *

When they were younger, they had dived straight into a relationship, and before they knew it, they were living together. But slightly older Nathan and Sammy were more careful. They had been so young- and they still were. But their circumstances were different then. They had been divorced, and in that time Nathan had remarried and had a son.

But despite all that, they still looked exactly the same. And they saw the looks that only they had been able to share, years earlier when they were first engaged.

They were older. Maybe even a little wiser.

"This is lovely", Sammy said with a smile, as she took her seat at the table.

"Yeah, I think we need a night out. Just the two of us".

They weren't a couple. And yet they weren't just friends either. Some nights, Sammy would find herself curling up beside Nathan in the bed he had in the Calamari Castle, too tired to go back to her own place. And that way it was easier, when they went for a morning walk with Edward. They had kissed, a few awkward kisses, but they hadn't gone further than that (despite both of them wanting to).

The two of them made small talk over bruschetta, a favourite of theirs from years earlier, and Nathan ordered a bottle of champagne for them.

They weren't quite their old selves, but they were getting close.

* * *

"Nathan, what are we?" Sammy wanted to know, as the two of them, hand in hand, walked along the harbour.

"Sam… what do you think we are?" he said instead, squeezing her hand gently.

Neither of them were sure- but neither of them wanted to say what they thought, either.

"We have so much history", she sighed. "We were so young, Nathan".

"We still are", he reminded her.

And the two of them descended into a comfortable silence once more.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Nathan and Sammy are like the real life Ross and Rachel", Ben said conversationally, ticking Edward's tummy through his wonder suit while they lay on the lounge together.

"I'm sure they'd love being compared to fictional characters", Retta chuckled, as she passed Ben the bottle she had heated up.

"Really, Retta, if you had known them before the shit hit the fan, you'd say that too", he said with a grin, plugging Edward's mouth with the bottle and leaning back.

"They are babe", Carbo nodded in agreement. "But don't ever say that to Sammy. She probably wouldn't like that too much".

"Right", she said in amusement.

Conversation between the three of them dwindled, as Edward sucked furiously at his formula and Carbo absent mindedly drew patterns on the small bulge that was Retta's belly.

* * *

"Let's start from the beginning", Sammy said suddenly.

"Hmmm?" Nathan turned to her, as he turned into Carrs Park.

"Let's start over", she repeated. "From the beginning. Let's be strangers again. Let's get to know each other again, relearn what we already know. We can make new inside jokes and create new memories. And give each other a second chance".

Or an eighth or so chance, but neither of them said that.

"Lets start from the beginning", Nathan agreed.

* * *

"Benno, phone", Carbo called as Ben descended down the stairs, having tucked Edward into bed, and Ben snatched it up.

"Ring a ding ding you've reached the king".

"Hi darling", Julie said with a smile, and Ben laughed.

"Hi Mum- how's the road?"

"It's good, darling, its good- treating us well. It's an adventure we wish we could have had with you and the other two".

"Well you've got Ruby, so it can't be that bad". He chuckled. "So where are you? When I got your last message you were traipsing around SA".

"Well we're still in South Australia".

"That's nice, that's nice. What's the weather like in SA?"

"The weather's nice darling".

"You're seriously talking about the weather?" Dave said incredulously. "God Jules".

"I wanna talk!" Ruby said excitedly, holding her hand out for the phone. Julie smiled.

"Ben, you've got a little one who wants to have a chat to you".

"Aw, Rubes!" Ben grinned. "Hey kid, what's happening?"

"Hi Ben!"

"How's the road?"

"Good. Don't like being in the car but".

"Get used to it kid, you've got hundreds of thousands of kilometres to go".

"Really?"

"Yeah. Hey Rubes, do you miss me?"

"Yes".

"I miss you too. Ruby you'll always be my baby!" Ben warbled and Ruby frowned, sticking her bottom lip out.

"Ben! I not your baby!"

"You'll always be my baby!"

"Ben!"

"Ben stop teasing your sister!" Julie called, sighing. She turned to her husband to see him sitting there with a grin on his face. "How is it we're thousands of kilometres away from them and he can still tease his sister?"

"Rachel's on the other side of the world and he still manages to tease her". Dave shrugged and Julie chuckled, as Ruby snapped.

"Ben! I not your baby".

And she removed the phone from her ear, glancing at the touch screen before tapping the red 'end call' button.

"She hung up on me!" Ben said indignantly.

"I'd hang up on you too", Nathan commented as he and Sammy walked through the door and Retta laughed.


End file.
